Tag: expansion
Linglong lays foundation stone for fourth Chinese tyre factory
Shandong Linglong Tire Co. Ltd. has laid the foundation stone for its fourth Chinese factory. The event, held 6 July ran in parallel with Linglong Tire's "global partners" conference. The new plant is in addition to Linglong’s existing Zhaoyuan, Dezhou and Liuzhou factories. Linglong is building the fourth plant at a 223-acre site in the city of Jingmen in Hubei province.
Klarius increases UK manufacturing capacity
Recent investment has provided Klarius with increased manufacturing capacity for automotive OEM and aftermarket emission control products including exhausts, CATs and DPFs. “Demand is being driven by both the UK market and export growth” states Paul Hannah, Business Development Director. “The aftermarket is changing rapidly and while quality is still very important, once the required standards and certifications have been met, the focus is all on range and availability.
Chinese tyre makers off-shoring in Southeast Asia
At the end of May, anti-Chinese truck tyre tariffs were implemented. They included nominal (as opposed to percentage) tariffs at levels that surprised many. As a result, supply shortages and challenges at distributors were predicted. Shuttering of some of the lowest cost Chinese tyremakers is also expected. However, speaking to affected firms during the recent Tire Cologne reveals that many are already prepared to source tyres elsewhere. Indeed, the largest manufacturers have been off-shoring for some time. As a result, virtually all the leading Chinese tyre manufacturers already have non-Chinese tyre production in place. Let’s take a look at who’s got what.
Wanli considering Europe for $1 billion tyre factory investment
Wanli-owner Guangzhou Vanlead Group Co. Ltd. has indefinitely postponed plans to invest US$1 billion in the construction of a tyre factory in South Carolina, USA. Now the company is said to be considering alternative locations including some in Europe
CEAT plans to invest US$500 million in new tyre factory
Indian tyre manufacturer Ceat is planning to invest around 40 billion rupees (£442.4 million; 499.8 million euros; $482 million) in the construction of a greenfield tyre manufacturing facility near Sriperumbudur, 40 kilometres west of Chennai. The Times of India reports that the Tamil Nadu cabinet met on Wednesday 27 June to “approve the new project and offered a structured incentive package for the unit, which when becomes operational in about a year, will directly employ 1,000 people”.
Cimcorp doubles building footprint in Finland production and office expansion
In May Cimcorp, the Finland-based manufacturer and integrator of turnkey robotic gantry-based order fulfilment and tire-handling solutions, shared construction plans to expand its production and office facilities at its headquarters in Ulvila, Finland. The new facilities will be built on 8,500 square metres of land, bought by Cimcorp in August 2017, nearly doubling the footprint of its current 9,500-square-metre space. The expansion will enable the company to accommodate its continuing business growth with greater capacity and efficiency, as well as incorporate new space for research and development.
Hankook adding truck tyre production to European plant
With an investment of approximately 290 million euros, Hankook Tire is adding a truck tyre production unit to its factory in Rácalmás, Hungary. Work on this expansion project – the fourth since the plant opened in 2007 – will begin in June, with production expected to commence in June 2020. The truck tyre production unit will have the capacity to make 550,000 tyres a year, and its opening will create around 150 new jobs.
ZC Rubber sales up 22%
At the ZC Rubber dealer meeting held in late January, the ZC Rubber reported that its 2017 sales revenue was up by about 22 per cent.
Test World doubles length of snow and ice test platforms
Well-known Finnish test centre Test World is expanding its year-round testing options. According to the company, this year it is more than doubling the length of the existing natural snow and ice platforms, and introducing asphalt tracks for wet and dry braking and aquaplaning, all under one roof. The new and extended indoor tracks will be opening from April 2018.
ZC Rubber hosts dealer meeting in Thailand
ZC Rubber hosted a meeting for dealers and partners in Bangkok, Thailand on 28 Januaruy. The distributor conference was headlined, “More Progress More Achievement”, focusing on improving market share in local tyre markets. Ge Guorong, vice president of ZC Rubber, shared the great achievement in the 2017 that the company’s sales revenue was up for 2017, by about 22 per cent.
Kordsa expands polyester yarn capacity
Kordsa is expanding its polyester capacity at its plant in Izmit, Turkey. With the addition of new facilities and equipment, Kordsa aims to have an additional polyester yarn capacity of 7000 tons with an additional 3,500 m2 area in its current facility this year.
Petlas aims to increase car and truck tyre sales with factory investments
Already a market leader in the agricultural tyre segment in the North Africa, Middle East and Eastern Europe, Turkish tyre manufacturer Petlas is now aiming to increase its passenger car and truck tyre sales figures in the years to come. To this end, the firm reports that it made a series of investments in its passenger car tyre production during 2017.
NTC to build greenfield tyre factory in Saudi Arabia
National Tire Company (NTC) has unveiled plans to build a greenfield car and truck tyre factory in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. The goal is to focus on “premium” tyre production only. The investment is owned by HRH Prince Fahad Bin Abdul-Rahman Bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud. According to NTC, the plant will be the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia and “one of the biggest and most modern individual tyre factories in the world”. The factory will make 16 million car tyres and 6 million truck tyres a year, with a workforce of 4000 at full capacity. NTC will work with the Finnish Black Donuts Engineering Inc in the construction of the factory.
Incentives helped Triangle decide to build US factory in North Carolina
Triangle Tire’s decision to build its North American manufacturing facility in North Carolina was helped by the offer of $152 million in state and local financial enticements, state officials announced December 19. The company will receive $66 million in state incentives and $86 million from Edgecombe County. The two-phase project is expected to be complete by 2023.
Why Doublestar’s Kumho purchase is a good idea
15 months after bidding got underway, Qingdao-based Doublestar and its consortium of Chinese banks and investors bought 45 per cent of the South Korean tyremaker Kumho Tire over the Easter weekend. Whatever other clauses are written into the deal, following the release of shares issued for the purpose of the sale, Kumho Tire’s creditors will own a 23.1 per cent shareholding in the tyre maker, down from 42.01 per cent. This makes the Chinese tyre firm controlling shareholders in South Korea’s Kumho Tire.
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